LWF Joins the Fight Against HIV/AIDS in Africa

The Lutheran World Federation has joined the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. The LWF has participated in several projects all over the African continent that are struggling with HIV/AIDS as one of the most urgent tasks to solve over recent years.

International communities from various denominations are uniting in a fight against the three main problems in Africa - hunger, poverty and disease.

LWF/World Service was supervising a project sponsored by Norwegian Church Aid on HIV/AIDS education in Sierra Leone. Ten people from the four vast and diverse communities of Lumpa, Rokel, Kossoh Town and Jui, which have growing populations, were selected and trained as peer educators. All forty participants were issued with certificates.

The decision to use the services of peer educators in these communities was made after consideration of the most successful method to face and fight the pandemic.

The aim of the project was to raise awareness and then it is hoped that prevention should naturally follow via a change of social behaviour, which will in turn lead to stopping the spread of the disease.

Project Officer, Hamed Mustapha Turay explains the content of the education programme: "We undertook different activities such as workshops, focus group discussions, drama and competition on HIV/AIDS issues, community outreach programmes through Talking Drum Studio, follow-up meetings, school visits and sensitisation."

Another project that the LWF joined in Uganda is the construction of houses for AIDS orphans.

This project was overseen by the Sembabule Community Based Aids Project and supported by Icelandic Church Aid and Finn Church Aid.

As the upcoming G8 meeting is approaching and the recent Africa day event has taken place, a lot of attention is being paid to Africa and to finding a way to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Kofi Annan of the United Nations, during Africa Day on 25th May, said that "2005 could well be a crucial year for Africa," since the MDGs should be met by 2015.